Early balloting shows huge Texas turnout

KELLEY SHANNON

Published 6:00 pm, Sunday, March 2, 2008

AP Political Writer

Texans showed up in likely record-breaking numbers during two weeks of early voting, with voters in the state known for producing two George Bushes and Tom DeLay casting ballots in the Democratic primary.

"Texas is well on its way to a new record for turnout in a primary election," Texas Secretary of State Phil Wilson said Monday.

An estimated 60 percent, or 2 million, of the 3.3 million total voters expected in Tuesday's Democratic and Republican primaries voted early, Wilson said. He based that estimate on the slightly more than 1.2 million who cast ballots in the 15 most populous counties through Friday's end of early voting.

The campaigns of Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama urged supporters to stop in at shopping centers, libraries or county courthouses to cast their ballots early and beat the anticipated primary day rush. Republican presidential contenders John McCain and Mike Huckabee also campaigned in Texas, though voter interest centered on the closer Democratic race.

The Secretary of State's Office tally for the 15 most populous counties showed that 890,188, or 11.39 percent of registered voters in those counties, voted early in the Democratic primary _ more than the Texas Democratic Party has seen in the past two presidential primaries statewide for early and Election Day voting.

Harris, Dallas and Bexar counties had the largest numbers of early Democratic voters, with 403,197 ballots cast in person and by mail in those three counties covering Houston, Dallas and San Antonio.

The biggest percentage turnout among Democrats was Hidalgo County, in the predominantly Hispanic Rio Grande Valley, where 18 percent of registered voters cast ballots.

On the Republican side, 303,338, or 3.88 percent, of registered voters in the 15 biggest counties cast early ballots. The largest number was in Harris County, with 64,631 early GOP voters; the largest percentage of registered voters was 7.66 percent in Montgomery County north of Houston.

There are 12.75 million registered voters in the state.

Texans can opt to cast ballots in the Democratic or Republican primary and attend a caucus held by that party after the polls close Tuesday night.

Texas Democrats award their pledged presidential delegates based on a combination of primary voting and caucusing. Republicans award their pledged delegates solely on the outcome of the party's primary vote.